Former President Donald Trump was reelected to a second term in office, winning more than 270 electoral votes to beat Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump, who promised mass deportations if chosen as the country’s 47th president, led in victories early on Tuesday as votes were tabulated across the nation, but lost Minnesota to Harris. Nearly 51 percent of Minnesotans voted for Harris, continuing the state’s longtime blue streak; Trump earned a little over 46 percent of the state’s votes.
The Associated Press declared Trump’s national victory at 4:34 a.m. CST Wednesday.
Minnesotans at the DFL election watch party appeared subdued near midnight Wednesday when national results in the race remained uncertain. Meanwhile, voters at the state’s GOP party grew progressively more excited throughout the night as Trump made strides nationally and as they ticked off Republican victories across the country.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, held a lead over Trump in Minnesota throughout the night, but their national results looked dim, with Harris’ campaign saying near midnight that she would not speak on the issue Tuesday.
Several attendees lingered at the DFL party at the InterContinental hotel in downtown St. Paul near midnight.
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, who remained late at the party, acknowledged that things didn’t look great for Harris and Democrats on the national level. But, he said, the DFL retaining the state Senate gives democrats some optimism.
“Obviously, it doesn’t feel good to see that we’re down right now, specifically for immigrant families who are fearful of the results of this election,” he said. “But no matter what happens tonight, we’re going to organize tomorrow and the next four years … to ensure that our communities are safe.”
Democratic Party presidential candidates have won Minnesota for the last half-century, the longest-running streak of any state for the party. But Republican presidential candidates came close to winning Minnesota a number of times since, most recently in 2016 when Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by under 2 percentage points.
Democrats are hoping the addition of Walz to the Harris ticket will continue Minnesota’s streak, and neither Harris nor Trump has treated Minnesota as a swing state this election season.
Minnesota DFL watch party
A crowd of supporters began trickling into the DFL watch party about 8:15 p.m. A DJ played club music in a ballroom as MSNBC’s election coverage was projected on a giant screen.
The party was packed by about 9 p.m., as some supporters mingled while others nervously watched the election returns. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan spoke to the crowd around 10 p.m.
“It has been an honor to travel the country and this great state to talk about my buddy and our incredible Governor Tim Walz,” she said. “And to talk about our next President of the United States Kamala Harris.”
Flanagan would become the next governor of Minnesota if Harris wins the election. Walz is expected to watch tonight’s results with Harris in Washington, D.C.
“I want to be clear, whatever my job is tomorrow or a month from now, or a year from now, or 20 years from now, I will always be here to listen to your struggles and successes,” Flanagan said. “I will work to make the changes that we need here together in Minnesota. I will work with everyone to protect our rights and our freedoms.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter was the first speaker of the night and talked up Walz. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was also spotted in the crowd.
“Are you proud of our governor?” Carter asked to cheers from partygoers. “It’s an exciting opportunity, because one of the things we know in Minnesota is that elections have consequences.”
U.S. Senator Tina Smith addressed the group at about 9:45 p.m., telling them to be patient as results come in slowly. She said she had “no doubt” that Harris and Walz would win once all votes are counted.
“Tim and Kamala have reminded us that politics should be joyful,” she said. “Politics should be about what we can do together to really move our country in the direction that we want to move it.”
Several other DFL elected officials are expected to show up later, including
Attendee Neal Washington, 38, of St. Louis Park, said he was so confident Harris would win that he already booked a hotel to see the presidential inauguration in person.
“Honestly I’m feeling a little nervous, but not too much,” he said about waiting for election results. “I still feel like she’s gonna swing it out of the ballpark.”
Marva Dixon, 62, a teacher from New York, said she spent the last week door-knocking for Harris in the Twin Cities suburbs.
“I’m extremely nervous,” Dixon said. “I really want Kamala to win.”
David Mesta, 24, of Mankato, said his parents are Mexican immigrants who came to live in Minnesota.
“I think it’s important for people who come from an immigrant background to feel supported, not from Trump who’s been attacking Latino communities and making us feel that we’re a threat when we’re not,” he said.
Alex Juarez, 24, said he was nervous that Virginia, which has been a reliably blue state in recent presidential elections, hadn’t yet been called for Harris. But he said he’s hopeful about the final outcome.
Minnesota GOP watch party
A steady shuffle of GOP supporters donning sport coats and red Make America Great Again hats began to fill up the ballroom at the Radisson Blu in Bloomington on Tuesday night as the Minnesota Republican Party hunkered down to watch the election results.
The crowd kept finding new reasons to cheer as election results rolled in. The ballroom at the Radisson Blu erupted in applause late in the evening as Fox News called an Ohio race for Republican Bernie Moreno over incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.
Republican Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach took the stage shortly after her race was called around 10 p.m. in Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District, celebrating her win and saying that Republicans have a great chance to take the White House and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
“Things are going our way,” Fischbach said.
Republicans got more good news at about 10:45 p.m., when Fox News’ projection for Trump to win North Carolina rang through the ballroom to a chorus of cheers. The buzz kept growing as CNN updated the audience on key races in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that all showed slight leads for Trump.
The largest roar yet came at 10:50 p.m. when Fox News projected that Republicans would take control of the U.S. Senate.
Elliott Blanchette, 31, broke political ranks from his Democratic family and became a Republican in 2014. He saw the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and disagreed with what he called a Marxist ideology behind the movement. Blanchette, who is Black, felt more at home in the Republican party and has since become an ardent Trump supporter.
He wore a white hat with “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) written in gold stitching, along with an American flag shirt and shoes.
“I’m fully MAGA, all the way,” Blanchette said.
Sipping a glass of red wine, Blachette said he was feeling optimistic about Trump retaking the White House and flipping Minnesota to the Republicans.
David Hann, chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, said he felt good about where the party stood as he awaited the night’s results. The party has been active in the western suburbs, Hann said, where a special election for Senate District 45 will determine if the upper chamber will remain in DFL hands by a one-seat margin. Democrat Kelly Morrison resigned from the seat to run for the Third Congressional District seat, opening up a race between Republican Kathleen Fowke and DFL-endorsed Ann Johnson Stewart.
The party worked to reach voters in Minnesota’s Somali and Hmong communities this election cycle, and made real progress, Hann said.
“We want the Somali folks to get to know Republicans and not just what the Democrats say about us,” Hann said.
Chip Bui, a conservative, said he was excited about the Republicans’ chances Tuesday. He began supporting Trump when he was a high school student in 2016, and has been active in state Republican politics since.
“I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in God, and you know, Trump is the choice for me,” Bui said.
Inspired by Trump, Jason Cook, 47, made the conversion from Libertarian to Republican in 2016. The north Minneapolis resident said he’s drawn to Trump’s anti-globalism, America-first policies. He is hoping for more Republican success in Minnesota.
“I want to see some change,” Cook said.
He’s hoping to see more conservatives in the Minnesota House, and is also supporting GOP candidate Royce White in his race against incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Cook attended the party with Curt Dallaire. The men said they’ve seen a shift among their friends in the Somali community towards supporting Trump and other Republicans for cultural and economic reasons. But they worry about the integrity of the election process, and say they still feel the results of the 2020 election were not fairly tabulated, a claim made by Trump and conservatives that has been rejected in the courts.
“I’m hoping it’s too big to rig,” Cook said.
St. Paul resident Pao Lor was excited as he watched results trickle in. The 35-year-old has been a Republican for a decade, and wants to see Trump retake the White House. He feels Trump appeals to entrepreneurial people and those trying to lift themselves out of poverty. Trump offers a change from the current leadership, and is a known quantity, he said.
“They want somebody who is upfront and who they know what they’re getting,” Lor said of voters.
This is part of Sahan Journal’s live election coverage.
